The Future King: Logres (51 page)

The gunman left her. Scrambling, Gwenhwyfar ran after Garan. A white
van stood in the drive, its back doors gaping and hungry. A bound, oversized
Alsatian snapped at her legs as she hurried past the threshold. They threw her
father into the van. She tried to follow, pleading, but she was pushed back.
There was a woman in there too, her hair sticking out like straw from the
bottom of her hood.

‘Gwen? Gwenhwyfar? Is that you?’

‘Mami!’ she howled, tears running from her nose. Someone hauled her
away and suddenly she was crumpled on the front doorstep, knees aching.
Neighbours who had emerged to watch the scene vanished behind their curtains. Doors
were slammed shut, engines roared. She wasn’t aware whose hands she pushed at
as she tore after the van, only of the pain in her shins and the burning in her
heart. She made it to the end of the street and halfway down the next road, but
finally the unmarked vehicles turned out of sight. Gasping for breath,
Gwenhwyfar fell sobbing to the concrete. They were gone.

Acknowledgements

Going it alone on a project like
this is not possible without the help and support of others. Thank you to Kristof,
Madlen, Mark and Martin for being involved in the final proofread before
publication; and to Cat and Holly for putting the idea of self-publishing in my
head. Special thanks again to Madlen for answering my questions about the Welsh
language and for your invaluable advice and encouragement. Thank you also to my
sample readers and to everyone who offered to help out during this
process—your kindness will not be forgotten.

Kristof, thank you always for your continued investment and support
in this and in everything I do, for your advice and patience, and for providing
the platform I needed to write this book. Most especially thanks to Anna, who
read through every draft and helped make this novel what it is—I could
not have done it without you. Last but not least, to my family and friends—for
your support and interest in
The Future
King: Logres
and for not getting too bored with my most recent obsession:
thank you.

Note from the Author

Thank you for reading
Logres: Volume I
, the first installment in
The Future King
series. To keep up to date with my work and upcoming titles, please visit
The Part-Time Blog
or follow me on
Twitter
.

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